The invention relates to a collapsible or compact seat assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to a collapsible seat having a manual, tiltable or pivotable lower seat with minimal space requirements that can comfortably accommodate substantially all occupants, and if desired, also fold the lower seat to a stadium position.
To increase the versatility of vehicles, many modern vehicles include seats that fold or collapse. These seats commonly are designed to move to a stowed position to maximize cargo space of the vehicle. The seat must balance utility and comfort and the package of supporting system for the occupant must be minimal in size. Therefore, there is an increased need for proper and comfortable support of the occupant because of the minimal padding.
One problem with many stowable or compact vehicle seats and in particular rear vehicle seats is that these seats are currently only comfortable for a limited segment of the population. As vehicles become more compact and consumers demand more functionality from their vehicles, manufacturers strive to improve the comfort of these seats for a wider segment of the population.
One issue with improving the comfort of stowable and compact seats is that various design configurations and requirements prevent or limit designers from incorporating many comfort features from front seats of vehicles or fixed rear seats of vehicles. For example, space and folding requirements may prevent or limit certain features from being included. In addition, given that most rear seats in vehicles are used less than the front seats, manufactures generally desire to reduce or minimize the weight of the rear seats to improve fuel economy. Other comfort features found in front seats, such as power tilt of the seat to adjust the angle of the lower seat cushion are generally not cost effective on most vehicles for the rear seats.